On the Farm

Today was a much more relaxing day, largely because I didn't drive 650 miles. I spent the morning and early afternoon in Neillsville, mostly at my grandparents' old farm. I spent parts of every summer for the first fifteen years of my life there, and those days are among my fondest memories.


Dan and Ruth Clark, who own the farm now, have kept it up beautifully. The forests have remained intact, unlike those of many other farms in the area. Dan tells me that the Amish and Mennonites have moved into the area en masse in recent years. They farm intensively, often clearcutting any stands of trees.

I drove down to Viroqua in the afternoon, and spent the evening with my old friends Trish and David. I met them when they were peace corps volunteers in the Dominica Republic quite a few years ago. Abby, their baby, is now, to my surprise, in high school. We ate oragnic fajitas, drank cheap white zinfandel, and watched the Martin Scorsese Bob Dylan special on PBS. Who can imagine a more perfect evening? No, really, it was fun.

Gotta run. The Prairie du Chien public library only allows 30 minutes of internet access, and I am running out..........

Wisconsin Ho!

Today was a very long travel day. There is just no short way to get from Detroit to central Wisonsin. It was dark, dreary and wet until I got to the Mackinac Bridge, and then it was sunshine all the way.

I've traveled through the UP many times, but always missed that little corner between Escanaba and the Wisconsin border. This time I decided to drive it, only to realize I hadn't really missed much--not from the road, anyway. There was Lake Michigan shoreline, but cloaked behind a green wall of identical-appearing trees.

I did have an interesting stop in Peshtigo, Wisconsin, at the fire museum. The Peshtigo Fire was one of the greatest natural disasters in American history, but got overshadowed by the Great Chicago Fire ( which happened on the same day). 1200 people died when the forests of northern Wisconsin, full of lumbering debris, caught fire and burned madly.


(Detail of the Peshtigo Fire mural in the museum.)

I've written a much longer travelogue, but need to spellcheck it and tweak it a bit more before posting. All the wine and spirits that my friend Lyn plied me with have affected my writing skills a bit, I am afraid.

On the Road Again

Monday I head off to the American West, specifically Idaho. I plan to travel through Northern Michigan, Wisconsin, South Dakota and Wyoming as well. I will try and keep you posted.

Typically, I have ended up traveling when American gas prices are at their peak. Yes, I know, our prices are quite low compared to those in the rest of the world. But, still, I hate to think that my voyage will help contribute to record-high oil company profits, and put more money in to the pockets of Bush, Cheney, and their cronies.

'Nuff said. Time to pack and get organized for the long road ahead.

Double Birthday

Today, my last day home for a while, we celebrated two birthdays. My Dad turns 79 tomorrow, and my sister-in-law grew a year more mature yesterday. This is a photo of the two of them, indoors because of the pouring rain, with Nick getting into the picture (far right).

Compare and Contrast

Pro-War rally on September 25

Anti-War rally on September 24

So which side most accurately represents the sentiments of the American public?

US Out of Iraq NOW!

As always, Juan Cole gives a trenchant analysis of why the US should get out of Iraqnow. Sadly, we have broken Iraq, and don't have the ability to fix it. We took a functioning modern state and former ally,


albeit one run by a dictator (and, since when does the US or Bush disapprove of dictators?),

and turned it into an Islamic theocracy.

But don't forget Poland.....

Hmm, it seems like the debacle in Basra has soured the Brits on George and Tony's excellent adventure, and they'll soon be pulling out. So much for the coalitions of the willing.....who's left now besides the US and Micronesia?

That's What Friends Are For......

Once again Bush helps out his best buddies, the Saudis. After all, what's a bit of slavery between friends?

New Baby

Last week my friend Ella had a baby, her first. David made his way into the world a bit early, but he's cute and healthy, and that's all that really matters. Here he is shown in his father's (Walter's) arms.

I hope to get a few more photos of him in a few weeks, when he masters the skill of opening his eyes for minutes at a time. I'll post them then.

Post via E-mail

Blogger says I can post to my blog via e-mail. If you can see this,
then, verily, they speak the truth!

A Bit of Background

I tried to post a descriptive bio on my page, but, alas, it ended up looking huge and ungainly in that right column.

So I'll post it here instead, paragraphs intact.


I was born in Detroit to Ukrainian immigrant parents, and spoke only Ukrainian until kindergarten, where I learned to speak English properly and grammatically. (Mind you, this was only after weeks of my teacher wondering is I was, well, slow, as I didn't speak at all in class, and had no idea what she was saying.) I then spent ten years of Saturdays going to Ukrainian school, where I learend all about Ukraine's history and culture. As was de rigeur for first generation Ukes in the 60s and 70s, I attended anti-Soviet demonstrations (but was never, alas, arrested), sang in a choir, made pysanky, and learned to play the bandura poorly.

I missed out on a lot of American culture (girl scouts, Barbie dolls, and Saturday morning cartoons except for Scooby Doo), but did become a punk (Gabba Gabba Hey!), learned Spanish and photography, and managed to earn degrees in chemistry and medicine.

I trained as an OB/GYN in the hospital where I was born, and, in 1987, finally entered the real world. I found it boring and a bit pointless. I also found it to be all-consuming, taking time away from friends, family, and non-medical pursuits. Searching for meaning and a goal in life, I began to travel extensively, and volunteered at hospitals in India and Ukraine.

In 1997 I quite the rat race, and left a fairly successful practice to become a relatively poorly paid hospital doctor with lots of free time. I began to write more, travel more, and take more photos.

And I found my cause. In 1998 my cousin Vera convinced me to volunteer at a camp for orphans in Ukraine. I loved it, and have gone back every summer since. I have also become active in UCARE (see links), am on the board of directors, and am the group webmaster.

In 2000 I was shaken out of my political complacency by the judicial coup that placed Bush the Younger on the American throne. I became more politically active, educating myself and my friends, and getting more involved in the political process (MoveOn, protests, activism).

I have continued with my hobbies, too--photography, pysanky, and travel. My .mac website has phtos of all these pursuits. Go have a look.

First Post

testing....testing.....is this thing turned on?